He says his work “has been exciting over the last couple of years, and I attribute all of that success to the ACE.”
Mentoring in Connecticut Tony Kellogg, assistant engineer with Turner Construction Co. in Harford, Conn., began the ACE program at the urging of his mother. He never heard in school about construction careers, other than being an in-the-field construction worker.
He says he enjoyed ACE so much his junior year that he gave up baseball to attend during his senior year
“Going into it, I didn’t realize the different components of construction,” Kellogg says. “It gave me a better understanding of what the construction industry is.”
Kellogg completed the ACE program in 2003 and obtained a scholarship from ACE to study civil engineering at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. He later changed his major to construction management. Kellogg interned for two years with Turner before the company hired him full time in 2007 as an assistant engineer.
“ACE not only helped direct me on a path of what I wanted to do in life, it actually helped me get this job as well,” Kellogg says.
Kellogg is currently working on Turner’s $184-million, 318,000-sq-ft Saint Francis Hospital addition in Hartford. He receives submittals and builds the job on paper, taking a job through the approval process and coordinating to ensure everything fits when it comes to the job.
Convinced about the benefits of ACE, Kellogg now volunteers as a mentor.
“It brings it full circle for me, and I realize how much ACE helped me and the dedication it takes to be a mentor,” Kellogg adds.
Designing a future Amanda Lamontagne, an intern architect with Svigals + Partners in New Haven, Conn., participated in the ACE program during her high-school junior and senior years, in 2002 and 2003. She says the program gave her confidence that she could become an architect. She graduated in 2008 from Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., after receiving a four-year scholarship from ACE.
“ACE opened up my eyes,” says Lamontagne of Cheshire, Conn.. “I didn’t realize at the time how important it was.”
Now, as an intern, she sees the people who mentored her at professional events. She thanks them and hopes in the future to become a mentor, although she still finds the reality of working in the profession a bit remarkable, saying, “I’m actually on the other side now.”
Steady work right out of high school Gilbert Arruda of Newark, N.J., took a different approach. With family members employed in the construction industry, he wanted to explore the field and learn more about the trades. Arruda completed the ACE program in 2005.
“It was great,” Arrunda says.
After graduation, he immediately landed a job through the Steam Fitters Local Union 475 in Warren, N.J. He now works at Frank McBride Mechanical Services in Paterson, N.J. His most recent project is installing HVAC equipment at a new dormitory for Kean University in Union, N.J.
“I took a more hands-on approach, rather than sitting behind a desk,” Arruda says. “It’s crazy to see a building get built out of nowhere. It’s pretty cool.”
Solidifying career decisions Andre Morgan knew he wanted to be an engineer but was not sure what kind.
“As we went through the program, we did a little bit of everything, and it focused my mind,” Morgan says. “It saved me time later on during college.”
Morgan completed a work-study program with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as part of the ACE program and was able to observe engineers at work, which solidified his ultimate decision to pursue mechanical engineering. He completed the ACE program in 2007. He is now studying mechanical engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark and interns with Thornton Tomesetti.
“People don’t understand what engineering entails,” Morgan says. “When I tell them what engineers do, they are more excited and understand that everything around them is affected by people called engineers.”
Morgan often returns to his high school and talks with students about his activities.
“ACE is good whether you have the idea you like engineering or not,” Morgan says. “It opens a lot of doors and possibilities. It helps you make good connections with people. All of the opportunities I have had are because of ACE.”
Making her way in America Nubia Castano, an assistant project manager at Hudson Meridian, is currently working on the Fulton Nassau Crossroads Program for the New York City Economic Development Corp. She is overseeing everything from marketing to construction on the restoration of the facades and storefronts on Fulton Street from the World Trade Center to the South Street Seaport. Before that, she finished a 97-unit condominium project in Manhattan.
Castano signed up for the ACE program shortly after arriving in the United States from Columbia. Architecture had always interested her, and her guidance counselor told her ACE would help her learn about the industry and present an opportunity to network with people.
“It was an extraordinary experience,” says Castano, who enjoyed meeting and working with the mentors, but what really impressed her was ACE’s commitment to her. She earned a scholarship but left college when her son was born. ACE officials tracked her down and reinstituted her scholarship.
“They reached out to me,” Castano says. “I was able to finish, network and find a job.”
Castano completed a degree in construction management from the New York City College of Technology. She is now studying facilities management. She stayed at her first job with Mancini Duffy, a New York architecture firm, for a couple of years, but she wanted to focus on construction and moved to Hudson Meridian.
Although she says she’s comfortable with her career choice, she acknowledges other women often feel intimidated by the construction field. She attributes ACE with giving her confidence and the opportunity to ask questions and receive honest answers.
“If it wasn’t for the program, I would never have been able to achieve so much,” Castano says.
